Fiber optic splitter

ABSTRACT

A splitter includes an optical splitter arrangement positioned with the interior of a housing. An input cable enters the housing. At least one boot protrudes outwardly from an end wall of the splitter housing. At least two output cables exit from the housing through the boot. First ends of the output cables are terminated with connectors. The optical splitter arrangement is configured to receive a signal from the input cable and to output the signal to the output cables.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/871,555filed on Jun. 18, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,827 which application isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to fiber optictelecommunications connection devices. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to multi-position holders for fiber optic connectors.

BACKGROUND

Fiber optic connectivity and service is being extended to more and morecustomers, both commercial and residential. However, not all customersto whom this service is available are currently ready to accept andutilize such service. Additionally, new service and connection devicesmay be provided in residential or commercial real estate developmentprojects but at a time prior to when the units are constructed or readyfor occupancy. In such circumstances, it is desirable to have an easilyscalable solution for aiding connection of new customers to existingconnections within a piece of installed connection equipment andexpansion of the number of connections available within that installedequipment.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a telecommunications equipment cabinetincluding a splitter connecting an outside plant cable to a plurality offiber optic cables. The cabinet includes a splitter mounting area, acable management structure, an array of adapters for opticallyconnecting two fiber optic cables terminated with connectors, and anexcess cable storage area. Customer equipment cables are connected torear of adapters within the adapter array. Cables from the splitter aredirected to the cable management structure and to the excess cablestorage area where connectors terminating these cables are stored andprotected until a connection between the outside plant cable and thecustomer equipment cable is desired.

The present invention further relates to a connector holder with atleast one opening in a housing for receiving a fiber optic connector andprotecting a polished end face of the connector. The connector holderincludes a housing with a releasable latch on one end and a mounting tabon the other end which cooperate to releasably mount the housing withinan opening in a bulkhead.

The present invention still further relates to a method of increasingthe connection capacity of a fiber optic telecommunications connectioncabinet. A splitter is mounted in the cabinet and a cable from thesplitter is connected to an outside plant cable. The splitter splits anoptical signal from the outside plant cable into a plurality of opticalfiber cables terminated with optical fiber connectors. This plurality ofcables is directed from the splitter to a cable management area and toan excess cable storage area. A plurality of connectors of these cablesare inserted within a connector holder and the connector holder isinserted within a mounting opening in the excess cable storage area. Thecabinet includes an array of adapters which may be used as needed toconnect a cable from the splitter to a customer equipment cable.

The present invention still further relates to a splitter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the presentinvention and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is asfollows:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a fiber optic telecommunications connectioncabinet including a multi-position fiber optic connector holderaccording to the present invention, with only illustrative cables shownto indicate routing.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a second embodiment of a fiber optictelecommunications connection cabinet including a multi-position fiberoptic connector holder according to the present invention, with onlyillustrative cables shown to indicate routing.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a mounting bulkhead for receivinga multi-position fiber optic connector holder as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,with a multi-position fiber optic connector holder inserted within oneof a plurality of mounting openings.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a multi-position fiber opticconnector holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the multi-position fiber opticconnector holder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a second rear perspective view of the multi-position fiberoptic connector holder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the multi-position fiber optic connectorholder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the multi-position fiber optic connector holderof FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the multi-position fiber optic connector holderof FIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the multi-position fiber optic connectorholder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the multi-position fiber opticconnector holder of FIG. 7, taken along line 11-11.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-position fiber opticconnector holder of FIG. 7, taken along line 12-12.

FIG. 13 is a second cross-sectional view of the multi-position fiberoptic connector holder of FIG. 7, taken along line 13-13.

FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of a fiber optic splitter module asshown within the cabinets of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 14A is a top view of a fiber optic device according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a third embodiment of a telecommunicationsconnection cabinet according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a fourth embodiment of a telecommunicationscabinet according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of fifth embodiment of atelecommunications connection cabinet according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is a front view of a sixth embodiment of a telecommunicationscabinet according to the present invention, with the excess fiberstorage area mounted adjacent an inside surface of a side wall.

FIG. 19 is a front perspective view of a mounting bulkhead for receivinga multi-position fiber optic connector holder as shown in FIG. 18, witha multi-position fiber optic connector holder inserted within one of aplurality of mounting openings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of thepresent invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 shows a telecommunications connection cabinet 100 such as mightbe mounted on a pedestal or other mount in an area where fiber opticconnectivity for customers is desired. Cabinet 100 provides a locationfor outside plant fiber optic cables to be connected to fiber opticdistribution cables. The distribution cables are then lead to customerequipment to provide fiber optic service and connectivity at thecustomer's location. A typical arrangement for providing service tocustomers might include utilizing a splitter to break the signal from anoutside plant (OSP) cable into a plurality of distribution cables, eachdistribution cable providing a connection to a particular piece ofcustomer equipment. A common splitter might separate the optic signalwithin the OSP cable into thirty-two individual signals and also combinethose thirty-two signals into the OSP cable in a bi-directionalcommunication configuration. Cabinet 100 is similar in nature to thatdisclosed in the commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/613,764, filed on Jul. 2, 2003, entitled “TelecommunicationsConnection Cabinet,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

A plurality of cables 108 connected to the customer equipment may bedirected into cabinet 100. One or more OSP cables 106 may be directedinto cabinet 100 to a splice arrangement, such as a splice tray or panel110. OSP cables 106 may be spliced within splice panel 110 to asecondary cable 104. Secondary cable 104 is directed from splice panel110 to a first cable management structure 112 and lead to a splitter 102within a splitter mounting area 103. Splitter 102 separates the opticalsignal transmitted over OSP cable 106 and secondary cable 104 into up tothirty-two signals directed into an equal number of fiber distributioncables 114. Cables 114 are directed from splitter 102 through cablemanagement area 112 and into a second cable management and slack storagearea 116 including a plurality of cable slack storage spools 117. Fromslack storage area 116, cables 114 may be directed to either a connectorholder within an excess cable storage area 118 or to an adapter withinan adapter array 120. Each of these cables 114 are preferably terminatedwith a fiber optic connector.

Within excess cable storage area 118, a plurality of connector holders122 are installed within mounting slots in a bulkhead 124. Connectorholder 122 (described in further detail below) includes a plurality ofopenings for receiving and releasably holding the fiber optic connector.The openings in connector holder 122 preferably do not provide acontinuous optical path but rather house and protect a polished end faceof an optical fiber within each cable 114 which is mounted to theterminal fiber optic connector. This protection may be provided incombination with an endcap, such as shown in commonly-owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/610,325, filed on Jun. 30, 2003, entitled “FiberOptic Connector Holder and Method,” the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, connector holder 122may enclose and protect the polished end face of the connectorterminating cable 114 without the need for a protective endcap.

Within adapter array 120, a plurality of fiber optic adapters 123 aremounted which receive the connector terminating cable 114. The connectorof cable 114 is received within an opening in a front side of an adapter123. Adapter 123 also includes an opening on an opposite rear side whichis adapted to receive a connector terminating one of the customerequipment cables 108. Adapters 123 within adapter array 120 mayoptically connect one of the cables 114 to one of the cables 108, fortransmission of an optical signal from OSP cable 106 to the customerequipment connected to that cable 108. Such cable terminating connectorsand adapters 123 are well known in the industry. As shown in FIG. 1, theconnectors are SC connectors and it is anticipated that other types,formats, styles and sizes of telecommunications connectors may be used.

Cabinet 100 includes a front 126, a pair of opposing sides 128, a rearwall 130, a base 132 and a top 134, all cooperating to define aninterior 136 within which the various components described above aremounted. The components are accessible through an opening 140 in front126 which may be closed off by a pair of doors 138.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an alternative embodiment 200 of atelecommunications connection cabinet includes the same components ascabinet 100. Some of the components are altered in appearance orlocation but the functional characteristics are similar to cabinet 100.Cabinet 100 includes a pair of adapter array panels 121, and each panel121 includes a total of four rows of eighteen adapters 123, orseventy-two adapters 123. Cabinet 200 includes three such adapter arraypanels, totaling two hundred sixteen adapters 123. Both cabinets 100 and200 include a single bulkhead 124 within excess cable storage area 118.Each bulkhead 124 includes openings for mounting three rows of threeconnector holders 122. Each connector holder 122 includes a total ofeight openings for receiving, storing and protecting eight cableconnectors of cables 114, providing total storage for up to seventy-twoconnectors.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a bulkhead 224 is shown with nine openings 226in a front face 228 including a rear surface 229, and one connectorholder 122 positioned within one of the openings 226. A pair of opposingsidewalls 230 extend rearward from opposite ends of front face 228 to apair of mounting flanges 232. Mounting flanges 232 include fasteneropenings 234 for mounting bulkhead 224 to one of a cabinet 100 or 200,or a similarly configured cabinet. Bulkhead 224 is similar to bulkhead124 in FIGS. 1 and 2, except configured so that front face 228 would beangled toward one side of the cabinet within which it is mounted.Angling of bulkheads including devices for receiving fiber opticconnectors is known in the industry and provides for improved cablemanagement and density of installation while aiding in bend radiusprotection, among other advantages. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, above,bulkhead 124 has equal length sidewalls 230 so that bulkhead 124 is notangled toward either side of cabinet 100 or 200.

Each opening 226 includes a first or top end 227 and a second or bottomend 225. A pair of ears 236 are positioned one each in a pair ofopposing sides extending from top end 227 to bottom end 225, the ears226 cooperating with a keying feature 238 on connector holder 122 toorient connector holder 122 within opening 226. Connector holder 122includes a releasable latch 240 at one end and a tab 242 on the oppositeend (shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, below) which cooperate to releasably holdconnector holder 122 within opening 226. It is desirable that thedirection of force that may be applied to connector holder 122 bytension in cables 114 be controlled to prevent accidental release ofconnector holder 122 from opening 226. Keying features 238 and ears 236cooperate to ensure that connector holder 122 is properly orientedwithin opening 226 to resist accidental release caused by such cabletension.

Openings 226 within front face 228 of bulkhead 224 (and bulkhead 124)are sized to also receive up to eight adapters 123 when connectorholders 122 are not in position. This allows bulkheads 124 and 224 toprovide additional space for optically connecting cables 114 withcustomer equipment cables 108 for added connection capacity withcabinets 100 and 200, as well as similarly configured cabinets.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 to 13, connector holder 122 includes a housing160 with eight openings 150 for receiving and releasably holdingconnectors of cables 114. As described above, cables 114 are terminatedby an SC style connector and openings 150 are configured to receive andreleasably hold an SC connector. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, openings 150extend through housing 160 from a front 162 to a rear 164 and can eachreceive a connector of a cable 114 with a dust cap about the polishedend face of the optical fiber held by cable 114 and the connector. Sucha dust cap is shown in the above-referenced and incorporated U.S. PatentApplications. Alternatively, openings 150 might be close-ended so thatthe polished end face of the connector can be protected fromcontamination with or without a dust cap.

Housing 160 includes a first end or top 152 and a second end or bottom154. Releasable latch 240 is mounted to top 152 and tab 242 is in bottom154. Extending between top 152 and bottom 154 along sides 166 of housing160 are rails 156. Keying feature 238 is positioned along rail 156 andextends beyond a rear face 158 of rail 156. A portion of housing 160extending beyond rear face 158 of rail 156 is sized to fit withinopening 226. When inserted within opening 226, rear face 158 of rail 156engages front face 228 and keying feature 238 engages one of the ears236 to properly orient top 152 and bottom 154 of housing 160.

To insert housing 160 within opening 226, bottom 154 is first positionedwithin opening 226 through front face 228 so that a locking face 243 oftab 242 is behind front face 228 at bottom end 225 and engages rearsurface 229 of front face 228. Top 152 is then inserted within opening226. A ramped face 244 of releasable latch 240 engages top end 227 ofopening 226 and deflects to permit ramped face 244 and locking face 241of releasable latch 240 to pass through opening 226. Locking face 241 ofreleasable latch 240 engages rear surface 229. Opposing both lockingfaces 241 and 243 are rear faces 158 of rails 156, which are engagingfront face 228. Both keying features 238 engage ears 236 of opening 226.Releasable latch 240 includes a finger tab 246 which may be depressed toretract locking face 241 so that locking face 241 disengages from rearsurface 229 and permits removal of housing 160 from opening 226. Housing160 is configured to be inserted through front face 228 of bulkheads 124or 224 when cabinet 100 or 200 is access through opening 140 in front126.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 13, housing 160 of connector holder 122includes an orientation slot 170 and latching arms 168 within eachopening 150. Latching arms 168 cooperate with latching features of an SCstyle adapter to allow such connectors to be releasably held withinopenings 150. For other styles and types of connectors, differentlatching features might be included within opening 150 to permit theseconnectors to be releasably held. Orientation slot 170 may cooperatewith an orientation feature on the exterior of an SC connector to orientall connectors within openings 150 in the same fashion. Such orientationof connectors is not essential for SC connectors, which have generallysymmetrical latching features, but may be desirable for other connectorswith different latching configurations.

Referring now to FIG. 14, splitter 102 includes a housing 172 with acable entry 174 for secondary cable 104 and a pair of cable exits 176(e.g., a boot) for cables 114. As shown, each cable exit 176 allows forup to sixteen cables 114 to exit housing 172. Terminating each cable 114is a connector 180 with a polished end face 182, shown as an SCconnector. Other sizes and layouts of cable exits are anticipated.Different numbers of cables 114 may exit housing 172, depending on theconnection requirements to be satisfied and the optical splitterarrangement 107 within the housing 172. Mounted to one side of housing172 is a releasable latch 178 to hold splitter 102 within splittermounting area 103 of cabinet 100 or 200, or similarly configuredtelecommunications connection cabinets.

FIG. 14A shows a fiber optic device module 202 similar in layout tosplitter 102 with secondary cable 104 and a plurality of cables 114.Secondary cable 104 may be a single strand cable and module 202 mayinclude a splitter to connector cable 104 with cables 114, such asdescribed above with regard to module 102. Alternatively, cable 104 maybe a multi-strand cable and module 202 may serve only as a fan-outmodule separating the strands into cables 114. Each of the cables 114are terminated by a connector 180 and each connector 180 is insertedwithin a connector holder 122. Such a module 202 may be used in themethod of adding connection capacity described below.

A method of adding connection capacity to cabinet 100 might includeinstalling a preconfigured splitter 102 in combination with one or moreconnector holders 122. It is desirable to provide for easy fieldexpansion of connection capacity within cabinet 100 so that cabinet 100does need to anticipate the ultimate connection configuration for aparticular customer service area when installed. Cabinet 100 may beinstalled with only enough connection capacity to serve the immediateneed forecasted for a customer area and allow for incremental expansionas more connections are needed in the area. The following method ofadding connection capacity to cabinet 100 is also applicable to cabinet200 and may be used to initially configure cabinet 100 prior toinstallation or to expand the capacity of cabinet 100 in the field.

To increase connection capacity within cabinet 100, a splitter 102preconfigured with a cable 104 and thirty-two cables 114 terminated byconnectors 180 is used. The splitter 102 is mounted within splittermounting area 103 and the free end of cable 104 is led into cablemanagement structure 112 and to splice panel 110. In splice panel 110,the free end of cable 104 is spliced into an end of an OSP cable 106.This splice optically connects OSP cable 106 to each of the cables 114.Connectors 180 of cables 114 are pre-inserted within four connectorholders 122. Cables 114 are led from splitter 102 through cablemanagement structure 112 to second cable management structure 116 whereexcess cable length may be retained within the cable slack storagearrangement. Since splitter 102 may be preconfigured for use withdifferent cabinets as well as cabinet 100, the length of cables 114 ofsplitter may be longer than required for cabinet 100 and this excesslength may be held about the cable slack storage spools 117 (see FIG.1).

From second cable management area 116, cables 114 and connector holders122 with connectors 180 inserted are positioned within excess cablestorage area 118. Each connector holder 122 is simply snapped into oneof the openings 226 of bulkhead 124. Addition of extra connectioncapacity is now completed. When a customer connection is required, acustomer equipment cable 108 is led into cabinet 100 and terminated witha connector 180. This connector is inserted within a rear opening of anadapter 123 within adapter array 120. Alternatively, when cabinet 100 isinstalled, the rear of all adapters 123 in adapter 122 may have customerequipment cables 108 prewired and these cables led to the customerpremises in anticipation of future customer hookups. When such aprewired customer desires a live connection, a cable 114 merely neds tobe inserted into the front of the appropriate adapter 123. One of thecables 114 within excess cable storage area 118 is selected and itsconnector 180 is removed from connector holder 118. The selected cable114 is re-routed within second cable management area 116 as needed toprovide a desired length of cable and the connector 180 is insertedwithin the appropriate adapter 123 in adapter array 120. If connector180 of the selected cable 114 includes a dust cap to protect thepolished end face of the fiber, this dust cap is removed prior toinsertion into the adapter 123.

Splitter 102 includes thirty-two cables 114 and connectors 180, insertedwithin four connector holders 122 when splitter 102 is installed. Asthese cables 114 and connectors 180 are transferred into adapter array120, some or all of the connector holders 122 may be emptied of allconnectors 180. When this happens, the empty connector holder 122 may beremoved from excess cable storage area 118 and discarded or recycled.Removal of these empty connector holders 122 would free openings 226 inbulkhead 124 to permit connector holders of additional splitters 102 tobe installed and more capacity to be added to cabinet 100.

If a connection to customer equipment needs to be terminated, theconnector 180 of the appropriate cable 114 may be removed from theadapter 123. The cable 114 is then rerouted within the cable managementstructure 116 and the connector 180 inserted within an opening 150 of aconnector holder 122 within excess cable storage area 118.

Splitter mounting area 103 of cabinet 100 includes spaces to mount up tofour splitters 102, while cabinet 200 provides spaces to mount up toeight splitters 102. Thus configured, cabinet 100 has a capacity toconnect up to split up to four OSP cables into thirty-two cables 114each, or up to a total of one hundred twenty eight cables 114. Withinadapter array 120 there are a sufficient number of adapters 123 topermit connection of each of these cables 114 to a correspondingcustomer equipment cable 108.

However, cabinet 200 has the capacity to split up to eight OSP cablesinto thirty-two cables 114 each, or up to a total of two hundredfifty-six cables 114. Adapter array 120 in cabinet 200 only provides atotal of two hundred sixteen adapters 123 for receiving connectors fromcables 114. Once adapter array 120 has been fully populated with cables114, there may be up to forty excess cables 114 within excess cablestorage area 118 which are not provided with an adapter 123 forconnection with a customer equipment cable 108.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 13, housing 160 of connector holder 122 witheight openings 150 has generally the same footprint as an array of eightadapters 123. When adapter array 120 has been fully populated withcables 114 from splitters 102, connector holders 122 may be removed fromopenings 226 in bulkhead 124 and up to eight adapters 123 may bepositioned in each opening 226. By fully filling five of the openings inbulkhead 124 with adapters 123, an additional forty cables 114 can beconnected with customer equipment cables 108, effectively increasing thecapacity of adapter array 120 so that the forty excess cables 114 may beutilized. Even with five of the openings 226 in used by adapters 123,there are still openings 226 remaining for connector holders 122 so thatcables 114 can be stored when connections with customer equipment cablesare eliminated or changed.

FIG. 15 shows a third alternative embodiment of a telecommunicationsconnection cabinet 300, similar in configuration to cabinets 100 and200, but including bulkhead 224 in excess cable storage area 118.Adapter panels 121 and bulkhead 224 are angled toward cable managementstructure and slack storage 116 to improve transfer of cables 114 fromcable management structure 116 to adapters 123 and to connector holders122. In addition, cables supports 302 are provided on both panels 121and bulkhead 224 to provide support to cables 114 extending to adapters123 and connector holders 122, respectively.

FIG. 16 illustrates a fourth embodiment of a telecommunicationsconnection cabinet 400 according to the present invention. Cabinet 400is similar in configuration to the previously described cabinets 100,200 and 300, with a cable a cable management structure 416 with cableslack storage along both sides of adapter array 120 and excess cablestorage area 118. Adapters 123 adjacent the left side of panels 121 areangled toward the left side of cabinet 400 and adapters 123 adjacent theright side of panels 121 are angled toward the right side of thecabinet.

FIG. 17 is a fifth embodiment of a telecommunications cabinet 500including side-by-side structure 502 within the cabinet. Each structure502 is similar in configuration to the contents of cabinet 400.

FIG. 18 is sixth embodiment of a telecommunications cabinet 600 whereexcess cable storage area 118 is positioned alongside one of an interiorwall 602. FIG. 19 shows a bulkhead 604 including a plurality of openings226 for receiving connector holders 122. The other elements withincabinet 600 are similar to the earlier described cabinets Bulkhead 604includes a pair of mounting flanges 606 and 608 for connection to theinterior 602 and cabinet rear wall 130, respectively.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the invention. Since manyembodiments of the invention can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claimshereinafter appended.

1. A splitter comprising: a housing having an interior defined by twoopposing major sides, two opposing minor sides extending between themajor sides, and two end walls extending between the major sides and theminor sides; a first boot protruding linearly outwardly from one of theend walls, the first boot tapering inwardly as the first boot extendsaway from the housing; an input cable entering the housing; a pluralityof first output cables exiting from the housing through the first boot,first ends of the first output cables being terminated with opticalconnectors; and an optical splitter arrangement positioned with theinterior of the housing, the optical splitter arrangement configured toreceive a signal from the input cable, the optical splitter arrangementfurther configured to output the signal to second ends of the firstoutput cables.
 2. The splitter of claim 1, wherein the input cableenters the housing through the end wall from which the boot protrudes.3. The splitter of claim 2, wherein the input cable does not enter thehousing through the first boot.
 4. The splitter of claim 1, furthercomprising: a second boot protruding from the end wall adjacent thefirst boot; and a plurality of second output cables extending throughthe second boot outward from the housing, a first end of each of thesecond cables being terminated with a connector, and a second end ofeach of the second cables communicatively coupled to the opticalsplitter arrangement.
 5. The splitter of claim 1, wherein the first bootincludes a base portion coupled to the housing, the base portionextending from a first end arranged adjacent the housing to a second,inwardly tapered end, the first boot also including an end portiontapering outwardly from the base portion.
 6. The splitter of claim 1,wherein at least a portion of the first boot flares outward.
 7. Thesplitter of claim 1, wherein the first cables extending through thefirst boot include at least six cables.
 8. The splitter of claim 1,wherein the first cables extending through the first boot includesixteen cables.
 9. The splitter of claim 1, wherein the housing can bereleasably coupled to a telecommunications connection cabinet.
 10. Thesplitter of claim 9, further comprising a latch configured to facilitatereleasably coupling the housing to a telecommunications connectioncabinet.
 11. The splitter of claim 1, wherein the optical connectorsterminating the first cables extending through the first boot include SCconnectors.
 12. The splitter of claim 1, wherein the end walls are notparallel with respect to one another.
 13. A splitter comprising: ahousing; an optical splitter arrangement for splitting a first opticalsignal into a plurality of optical signals, the optical splitterarrangement retained within the housing; an input cable extending intothe housing to transmit the first optical signal to the optical splitterarrangement; a first cable exit member protruding from the housing, thefirst cable exit member defining an aperture having a maximumcross-dimension, the first cable exit member protruding from the housinga distance greater than the maximum cross-dimension of the aperture; anda first plurality of output cables extending outwardly from the housingthrough the cable exit member to transmit at least some of the pluralityof optical signals from the optical splitter arrangement, the pluralityof output cables having connectorized ends.
 14. The splitter of claim13, further comprising: at least a second cable exit member protrudingfrom the housing; and at least a second plurality of output cablesextending outwardly from the housing through the second cable exitmember to transmit at least some of the plurality of optical signalsfrom the optical splitter arrangement.
 15. The splitter of claim 14,wherein the second cable exit member is positioned adjacent to the firstcable exit member.
 16. The splitter of claim 13, wherein the input cabledoes not extend through the first cable exit member.
 17. The splitter ofclaim 13, wherein the connectors terminating the first plurality ofoutput cables include SC connectors.
 18. The splitter of claim 13,wherein thirty-two output cables are coupled to the optical splitterarrangement and extend outwardly from the housing.
 19. The splitter ofclaim 13, wherein at least first and second cable exit members protrudefrom the housing, and wherein sixteen output cables extend outwardlythrough each cable exit member.
 20. The splitter of claim 13, wherein atleast first and second cable exit member protrude from the housing, andwherein at least six output cables extend outwardly through each cableexit member.
 21. The splitter of claim 13, further comprising a molded,one-piece, plastic connector holder having a front side and an oppositerear side, the front side of the connector holder defining a pluralityof openings, each opening being configured to receive the connectorizedend of one of the output cables only from the front of the connectorholder.
 22. The splitter of claim 13, wherein at least sixteen outputcables extend outwardly through the first cable exit member.
 23. Thesplitter of claim 13, wherein at least six output cables extendoutwardly through the first cable exit member.
 24. The splitter of claim13, wherein the maximum cross-dimension is defined by a circulardiameter of the aperture.